A universal remote control (URC) device transmits operational signals to control one or more electronic consumer devices such as TVs, VCRs; set-top boxes, audio home theatre systems, and CD/DVD players. A particular brand and make of electronic consumer device responds to operational signals containing a particular set of keycodes and performs the corresponding functions. In order to provide the functionality of a URC device, various types of keycodes are stored in codesets as a codeset database format. Each codeset is identified by a three digit codeset identifier associated with a particular brand and make of electronic consumer device. A URC device generally stores hundreds of codesets in a codeset database and is programmed to use one particular codeset to control one particular electronic consumer device.
Typically, a user is provided with a manual which includes a list of codeset identifiers corresponding to various electronic consumer devices. The user uses the manual to determine the correct codeset identifier corresponding to each electronic consumer device to be controlled, and then manually enters that codeset identifier into the URC device. This process is tedious and time-consuming. Further, if the manual of for the URC device is lost, then the user have no way to program the URC device except by obtaining another manual (for example, from the manufacturer or by calling customer service center to get programming instructions). In addition, the codeset that may be selected for use by the URC device is limited to the codesets stored in the codeset database and provided in the manual. The URC device needs a relatively large amount of memory to store the entire codeset database and providing this large amount of memory increases the cost of the URC device.
Some URC devices have the capability of being programmed without requiring the user to enter codeset identifier manually. This type of URC device is typically able to operate in an “auto search” mode such that the user does the auto search to find the desired codeset. However, auto search requires the user to take multiple programming steps to set up the auto search. Scanning through the entire codeset database is also time-consuming. Thus, a market exists for a universal remote device that can be easily programmed, whereby a user will not need to determine a codeset identifier from a user manual.